The Hippie House
by Dreams Of Another Summer
Summary: Elliot and Olivia investigate a heinous crime in Upstate New York. Will this small town reveal its dark underbelly?
1. A Case

**A/N: **So, my first SVU fic. Advance apologies for any OOC behaviour, but this a little not-quite-normal. It is based on the book "The Hippie House" by Katherine Holubitsky. Names have been changed, and the story is being told from Benson and Stabler's POV. Please review, and let me know what you think.

**Disclaimer: **I own neither SVU nor "The Hippie House". However, if I did own both, I would make this an episode.

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"Benson, Stabler, my office." Captain Don Cragen stuck his head out of his office and gestured to the two detectives.

"Got a case for you," he waved a folder towards them when they were all seated in the cluttered office.

Detective Olivia Benson lent forward to take the manila folder. Her partner, Elliot Stabler, lent over to read.

"Clare Ryan," Olivia began, "18, found two days ago in Pike Creek….upstate…"

"Raped, strangled and bound, located in…" Elliot paused. "The Hippie House?"

Cragen dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. "You leave tomorrow."

"Upstate? Why do we have this case? It's well out of our jurisdiction- it's not even in the city!" Olivia questioned the Captain.

"Small town cops. You know the type. Can throw guys in the drunk tank, but murder and rape? They're lost." Cragen looked down at the notes on his desk. "Apparently the Sheriff rang the FBI for assistance, but they turned it down. Through some chain reaction, it fell to us."

Olivia and Elliot exchanged glances. "So…"

"So you leave tomorrow. You can have the rest of the day off to prepare."

Leaving the office, the Detectives passed their colleagues and walked together to their lockers.

Elliot swung open his locker, catching his jacket as it fell out. "I'll pick you up tomorrow morning," He zipped up the jacket and turned up the collar. "At eight."

Olivia retrieved her handbag from her locker and nodded. "Eight it is. See you then."

Watching Elliot get into the elevator, she was left alone.

_Upstate New York? Oh brother._


	2. The Trip

**Disclaimer: **I don't own SVU or "The Hippie House"

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"Elliot!" Olivia opened the door of her apartment and looked at her watch. "Are you early?"

"Only by five minutes," he smiled as she grabbed her coat and scarf off the table. "We have a 3 hour drive ahead of us, anyway."

"That's why I made coffee," She reached onto the counter top, retrieving two hot travel mugs full of coffee. Balancing them, she gestured to the couch. "Could you grab my suitcase?"

Elliot grunted as he lifted it. "What the hell have you packed?" He joked, hauling it down to the street.

Settled into the car, Olivia pulled out a book, _Sense and Sensibility._

"Your not going to read the whole way there, are you?" Elliot asked her, pulling out into traffic.

Olivia nodded in reply.

"I don't know how you can do that. When there is so much to see and take notice of. Makes you think about yourself and the world."

Olivia had never heard her partner speak like that, so she put her book away and gazed out the window. He was right- the hustle and bustle of the city around her was fascinating to watch, but as they reached the country she pulled out the case file.

"What do we have?" asked Elliot.

"No autopsy results yet, some M.E. is coming up from the city to do it, and they wanted to wait for us. But preliminary observations show she was raped- there was bruising, marks, etc. She was tied to post using an extension cord, having been strangled. CSU arrived yesterday and are still working the scene." She took a deep breath before viewing the crime scene photos.

"This 'Hippie House'," Elliot broke in on her thoughts. "Does the report explain what it is?"

Olivia nodded. "There's a floor plan, aerial and ground photos, plus a map with description. A sixteen by twelve foot one home shack surrounded by thin woods in the southwest corner of Ruddy Duck Farm, a property owned by Patrick Johnson."

She pulled a photo of the "house" from the file. Sitting snugly in the woods surrounded by snow it looked as if it could have come from a Christmas postcard. But the thought of the horrific crime that took place there sent shivers down Olivia's spine.

"Highway 9," Elliot turned a corner. "Keep an eye out for 'Pike Creek Motel'."

Tucking the file back in the bag, Olivia looked around at the countryside, trying to get a feel for the place.

"Ah!" Elliot turned into the driveway of a stately old farmhouse. "This is it."

Olivia got out of the car and stretched, feeling her joints crack. Reaching into the backseat for her handbag, she joined Elliot at the back of the car.

"Have fun carrying this to your room," he joked as he put her suitcase on the gravel drive.

Olivia expertly pulled up the handle and tilted the suitcase back onto its wheels. "Oh I will!" she laughed.

They walked into the 'lobby', a beautiful old room with cobblestone floor. Elliot approached the teenage girl behind the desk.

"Hi. I'm Detective Stabler," he showed her his badge and gestured to Olivia. "This is Detective Benson. I believe you have rooms for us?"

The girl ran her finger over a page in the handwritten ledger before her and nodded. "Yes. A double room under the name Benson-Stabler." She turned to the board behind her to get a key as Olivia and Elliot exchanged surprised and shocked looks.

"Here you are- room 23." The girl smiled. "The stairs are that way, and have a good stay."

After hauling their bags up the cramped staircase, they managed to locate room 23.

"Ready?" Elliot said as he turned the key while Olivia prayed the room was habitable.

"Wow." was all Olivia could say when she stepped into the brightly lit room. Two double beds sat before a modern TV and DVD player, a small counter with mini-bar, kettle and glasses, and a polished whit bathroom. "Nice…but why are we sharing? What about all that 'no fraternising' 'nothing more than partners' crap the Rat Squad are cracking down on?"

Elliot feigned hurt. "You don't want to share a room with me?" He smiled. "I admit, budget cuts suck. But this could be a lot worse- dark and dirty, with just one bed. That would be awkward." Olivia laughed. "See? Now let's go talk to the Sheriff."


	3. Ruddy Duck Farm

**A/N: **Some of you seem a little concerned that I am making the Pike Creek Police sound like incompetent fools. But don't worry, they will make progress! And anyway, Pike Creek is a small town, everyone knows everyone kinda thing, and from my experience rape and murder throws small town police for a loop. The deputy in this story is based on a police officer from a small coastal town I frequent; his personality is being used without permission. Sorry if I have offended anyone. On with the story!

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"I'm sorry, the, uh, Sheriff's not in at the, um, moment," A deputy said as Olivia and Elliot approached his desk. "The, uh, NYPD?"

Olivia nodded, pulling out her badge. "Detectives Benson and Stabler. We got called in to help investigate the murder of Clare Ryan."

The deputy nodded. "The, uh, Sheriff is, um, out at the farm, the, uh, Hippy House. I can show you, um, out there, if you'd like."

"That would be great." Olivia smiled at the young man.

The road out to Ruddy Duck Farm was covered in slush from last night's snowfall, and the farm's driveway was rutted, slippery with the slush and lined with ancient elm trees. Olivia, who was driving at a snail's pace, wondered how the deputy manoeuvred the squad car in front of them with such ease. They passed a frozen lake, barns and livestock, and past a beautiful old farmhouse. The driveway became little more than a tractor path, and they stopped at a frozen creek. The deputy pointed across the creek to a cluster of trees.

"That's where the house is, but we have to, uh, walk from here." The deputy began walking over a frozen spillway. "Be careful of the, um, ice."

Once over the spillway, Olivia talked to the deputy.

"Who found the body?"

"Adam Johnson- his, uh, dad owns this farm, and he, uh, built the Hippie House."

"Why did he go there that night?"

"I, um, I'm not really sure…"

"Ok. Do you know if he heard anything before he arrived?"

"I'm sorry, I, uh, don't know."

Olivia nodded. "That's Ok. We'll talk to him later."

They reached the edge of the trees, and walked along a small path worn through the woods.

Ducking under the crime scene tape, they trudged through the slowly melting snow. The deputy left them to join a group of fellow Pike Creek officers, talking to some CSU technicians. The CSU van sat about 100 metres away from the house, with technicians climbing in and out of the back with equipment.

And then there was the Hippie House.


End file.
